Review: Entrapment – Through Realms Unseen

So I must confess to not knowing much about Dutch deathsters Entrapment other than that they really are a one-man recording unit under the multi-talented Michael Jonker with other members joining to enable live shows. The enticingly titled Through Realms Unseen is Entrapment’s third full length offering following debut The Obscurity Within, released in 2012 and 2014’s Lamentations of the Flesh. This guy knows how to pen some great album titles.

And so it was without any preconceptions that I first heard the strains of opening track “Omission” and a pleasant surprise it was. The sound is clean but warm and heavy and the production excellent, under the tutelage of JB Van Der Wal (ex-Aborted, ex-Atrocity). Their sound is clearly heavily influenced by the early Swedish sound of the likes of Entombed/Unleashed and indeed later Bolt Thrower but to pigeon hole them as a death metal band would be to misplace them on the evidence of this their latest incarnation.

The overall sound lacks the brutality of the aforementioned legends but rather intertwines elements of melancholic doom with plenty of catchy hooks and classic metallic melody. The results are at times very good and the song structures are generally short and punchy, with plenty of catchy riffs and melody particularly on album highlights “Ruination” and “Isolated Condemnation”.

However, as the eleven tracks progress there is a sense of the record drifting and losing it’s way somewhat which prevents the listener from keeping interested throughout. As a result, it fails to really leave a lasting impression. Nonetheless, a worthwhile listen.

Through Realms Unseenis out on the 25th of November through Pulverised Records and is available via the band’s Bandcamp page.